Undesirable noise detection and management

ABSTRACT

A communications management system (CMS) and related method receive registration information related to a plurality of participant systems (PSs) that communicate audio information between themselves. The CMS transmits a unique signal to each of the plurality of PSs that causes each of the plurality of PSs to produce a unique audio signal and detects an undesirable sound (US) in a PS of the plurality of PSs responsive to the transmission of the unique signal. Then, responsive to the detection of the US, the CMS applies a remedial action to the PS to initiate a reduction in a likelihood that the PS will produce a future US. Finally, the CMS repeats the operations of transmitting, detecting, and applying according to a predefined testing criteria.

BACKGROUND

Disclosed herein is a system for detecting and managing an undesirablenoise that may be present in a communications system.

Modern technology has minimized the need for a number of participants ina gathering to be physically present. Such a gathering may include ameeting, class, training, and the like. Networked computers provide amechanism for those participating in a gathering to have a much richerparticipation than in the days when a telephone was the only viablemechanism for remote participation. Tele-conferencing software hasproliferated that permits individual participants to hear, speak, see,and share information in a high-quality manner that was difficult andcostly in the recent past. However, along with these capabilities aroseproblems resulting from having larger and larger numbers ofparticipants.

SUMMARY

According to one or more embodiments, a communications management systemis provided comprising a memory comprising executable instructions, anda processor configured to execute the instructions that, when executedon the processor, cause the processor to receive registrationinformation related to a plurality of participant systems (PSs) thatcommunicate audio information between themselves. The instructionsfurther cause the processor to transmit a unique signal to each of theplurality of PSs that causes each of the plurality of PSs to produce aunique audio signal. The instructions further cause the processor todetect an undesirable sound (US) in a PS of the plurality of PSsresponsive to the transmission of the unique signal. The instructionsfurther cause the processor to, responsive to the detection of the US,apply a remedial action to the PS to initiate a reduction in alikelihood that the PS will produce a future US. Finally, theinstructions further cause the processor to repeat the operations oftransmitting, detecting, and applying according to a predefined testingcriteria.

According to one or more embodiments, a communications management systemis provided comprising a memory comprising executable instructions, andprediction database comprising prediction information. The instructions,when executed on the processor, cause the processor to receiveregistration information related to a participant system (PS) of aplurality of PSs that communicate audio information between themselves.The instructions further cause the processor to predict, according to apredefined likelihood threshold, that an undesirable sound (US) will bepresent during a conference that the PS is participating in based on thereceived registration information and the prediction information relatedto the PS. The instructions further cause the processor to, responsiveto a positive prediction of the US, apply a remedial action to the PS toinitiate a reduction in a likelihood that the US will be present duringthe conference prior to an actual detection of the US during theconference.

According to one or more embodiments, a computer-implemented methodincludes using a processor for an operation of receiving registrationinformation related to a plurality of participant systems (PSs) thatcommunicate audio information between themselves. The method furthercomprises an operation of transmitting a unique signal to each of theplurality of PSs that causes each of the plurality of PSs to produce aunique audio signal. The method further comprises the operation ofdetecting an undesirable sound (US) in a PS of the plurality of PSsresponsive to the transmission of the unique signal. The method furthercomprises the operation of responsive to the detecting of the US,applying a remedial action to the PS to initiate a reduction in alikelihood that the PS will produce a future US. The method furthercomprises the operation of repeating the operations of the transmitting,detecting, and applying according to a predefined testing criteria.

According to one or more embodiments, a computer program product isprovided that comprises a computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer-readable program code embodied on it. The program code allows aprocessor to, when executed on a processor, execute one or moreprocesses disclosed herein.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniquesof the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the inventionare described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimedinvention. For a better understanding of the invention with theadvantages and the features, refer to the description and to thedrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description may be taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, briefly described directly below and discussed inmore detail in the following

FIG. 1 depicts a cloud computing environment according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 2 depicts abstraction model layers according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a DPS according to one or more embodimentsdisclosed herein.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example undesirable noise detection andmanagement system, according to one or more embodiments disclosedherein.

FIGS. 5A & B are flowcharts illustrating example processes according toone or more embodiments disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following acronyms may be used below:

-   ADSL asymmetric digital subscriber line-   AEUD authorized end user device-   ARM advanced RISC machine-   ASP application service provider-   CD-ROM compact disc ROM-   CMS communications management system-   CoD capacity on demand-   CPU central processing unit-   CUoD capacity upgrade on demand-   DPS data processing system-   DSLAM digital subscriber line access multiplexer-   DSU/CSU data service unit/channel service unit-   DVD digital versatile disk-   EPROM erasable programmable read-only memory-   FPGA field-programmable gate arrays-   HA high availability-   IaaS infrastructure as a service-   I/O input/output-   IPL initial program load-   ISP Internet service provider-   ISA instruction-set-architecture-   LAN local-area network-   LTA logging/tracking/audit-   NSP network services provider-   PaaS platform as a service-   PABX private automatic branch exchange-   PDA personal digital assistant-   PLA programmable logic arrays-   POTS plain old telephone system-   PS participant system-   PSTN public switched telephone network-   RAM random access memory-   RISC reduced instruction set computer-   ROM read-only memory-   SaaS software as a service-   SLA service level agreement-   SRAM static random access memory-   TDU tagged data unit-   UR usage receiver-   WAN wide-area network

It is to be understood that although this disclosure includes a detaileddescription on cloud computing, implementation of the teachings recitedherein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as Follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as Follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as Follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure that includes anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 1, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 includes one or morecloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 1 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 2, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 1) is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 2 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of theinvention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers andcorresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may include applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing 95; and social networking and e-commerce 96, andthe like.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example DPS according to one or moreembodiments. The DPS may be used as a cloud computing node 10. In thisillustrative example, the DPS 100 may include communications bus 102,which may provide communications between a processor unit 104, a memory106, persistent storage 108, a communications unit 110, an I/O unit 112,and a display 114.

The processor unit 104 serves to execute instructions for software thatmay be loaded into the memory 106. The processor unit 104 may be anumber of processors, a multi-core processor, or some other type ofprocessor, depending on the particular implementation. A number, as usedherein with reference to an item, means one or more items. Further, theprocessor unit 104 may be implemented using a number of heterogeneousprocessor systems in which a main processor is present with secondaryprocessors on a single chip. As another illustrative example, theprocessor unit 104 may be a symmetric multi-processor system containingmultiple processors of the same type.

The memory 106 and persistent storage (e.g., non-transient memory) 108are examples of storage devices 116. A storage device may be any pieceof hardware that is capable of storing information, such as, for examplewithout limitation, data, program code in functional form, and/or othersuitable information either on a temporary basis and/or a permanentbasis. The memory 106, in these examples, may be, for example, a randomaccess memory or any other suitable volatile or non-volatile storagedevice. The persistent storage 108 may take various forms depending onthe particular implementation.

For example, the persistent storage 108 may contain one or morecomponents or devices. For example, the persistent storage 108 may be ahard drive, a flash memory, a rewritable optical disk, a rewritablemagnetic tape, or some combination of the above. The media used by thepersistent storage 108 also may be removable. For example, a removablehard drive may be used for the persistent storage 108.

The communications unit 110 in these examples may provide forcommunications with other DPSs or devices. In these examples, thecommunications unit 110 is a network interface card. The communicationsunit 110 may provide communications through the use of either or bothphysical and wireless communications links.

The input/output unit 112 may allow for input and output of data withother devices that may be connected to the DPS 100. For example, theinput/output unit 112 may provide a connection for user input through akeyboard, a mouse, and/or some other suitable input device. Further, theinput/output unit 112 may send output to a printer. The display 114 mayprovide a mechanism to display information to a user.

Instructions for the operating system, applications and/or programs maybe located in the storage devices 116, which are in communication withthe processor unit 104 through the communications bus 102. In theseillustrative examples, the instructions are in a functional form on thepersistent storage 108. These instructions may be loaded into the memory106 for execution by the processor unit 104. The processes of thedifferent embodiments may be performed by the processor unit 104 usingcomputer implemented instructions, which may be located in a memory,such as the memory 106.

These instructions are referred to as program code, computer usableprogram code, or computer readable program code that may be read andexecuted by a processor in the processor unit 104. The program code inthe different embodiments may be embodied on different physical ortangible computer readable media, such as the memory 106 or thepersistent storage 108.

The program code 118 may be located in a functional form on the computerreadable media 120 that is selectively removable and may be loaded ontoor transferred to the DPS 100 for execution by the processor unit 104.The program code 118 and computer readable media 120 may form a computerprogram product 122 in these examples. In one example, the computerreadable media 120 may be computer readable storage media 124 orcomputer readable signal media 126. Computer readable storage media 124may include, for example, an optical or magnetic disk that is insertedor placed into a drive or other device that is part of the persistentstorage 108 for transfer onto a storage device, such as a hard drive,that is part of the persistent storage 108. The computer readablestorage media 124 also may take the form of a persistent storage, suchas a hard drive, a thumb drive, or a flash memory, that is connected tothe DPS 100. In some instances, the computer readable storage media 124may not be removable from the DPS 100.

Alternatively, the program code 118 may be transferred to the DPS 100using the computer readable signal media 126. The computer readablesignal media 126 may be, for example, a propagated data signalcontaining the program code 118. For example, the computer readablesignal media 126 may be an electromagnetic signal, an optical signal,and/or any other suitable type of signal. These signals may betransmitted over communications links, such as wireless communicationslinks, optical fiber cable, coaxial cable, a wire, and/or any othersuitable type of communications link. In other words, the communicationslink and/or the connection may be physical or wireless in theillustrative examples.

In some illustrative embodiments, the program code 118 may be downloadedover a network to the persistent storage 108 from another device or DPSthrough the computer readable signal media 126 for use within the DPS100. For instance, program code stored in a computer readable storagemedium in a server DPS may be downloaded over a network from the serverto the DPS 100. The DPS providing the program code 118 may be a servercomputer, a client computer, or some other device capable of storing andtransmitting the program code 118.

The different components illustrated for the DPS 100 are not meant toprovide architectural limitations to the manner in which differentembodiments may be implemented. The different illustrative embodimentsmay be implemented in a DPS including components in addition to or inplace of those illustrated for the DPS 100. Other components shown inFIG. 1 may be varied from the illustrative examples shown.

One of the problems resulting from having a number of participantsinvolved in a remote gathering like a conference call is the undesirablenoise that may be present in one or more of the participants' soundsystems. A frequent type of undesirable noise is in the form of an echoor feedback, which may be present when a sound from one of the speakersis unintentionally fed back into a microphone to create a sound that isat least distracting and at most may make continuation of the gatheringimpossible if the situation is not rectified. With a number ofparticipants, however, it may be difficult to determine the equipment orparticipant responsible for creating the problem. It would be beneficialto quickly determine and manage or remediate undesirable noise, such asecho, when it is present in the system with minimal loss in soundquality for the participants. A gathering as herein defined is agathering of two or more individuals who are able to communicate withone another. A conference and a gathering are used synonymously.

In one or more embodiments discussed below, it may be possible, amongother things to discover and further remediate an audible pervasive echoor other undesirable noise during a phone-based conference meeting orother type of electronic gathering that is managed by a communicationssystem. Various techniques may be applied to web based and video-basedconferencing. In one or more embodiments, a pervasive echo or otherunwanted noise may be detected by utilizing a testing scheme, such as around-robin type of approach to quickly discover source of the unwantednoise. Based on system observation through various running applications,a baseline of system usage over time may be established, which maysubsequently be used to further predict the type of situations that maylead to unwanted noise in the future.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates an example of an undesirablenoise detection and management system 400 according to one or moreembodiments. A number of PSs 410, 410′ (or just 410 for the sake ofsimplicity when a plurality or representative PS(s) is/are beingdiscussed) may be registered for a conference within which participantsmay engage with and interact with others in the conference. Each PS 410may be, by way of example, a data processing system 100 as discussedabove, and may comprise a processor 412, such as, by way of example,processor unit 104, as discussed above. Each PS 410 may comprise amicrophone 415 that receives audio or sound signals from the surroundingarea and converts them to electrical signals that may then becommunicated within and outside of the PS 410. In some implementations,audio analog signals representing the sound may be converted intodigital signals using, for example, analog-to-digital converters andsubsequently transferred and processed digitally with, for example, adigital signal processor.

The PS 410 may further have a speaker 420 through which electricalsignals containing audio information may be converted into actual sound.Analog signals may be provided as the electrical signals to the speaker420, but these may have been produced from digital signals that areprocessed and transferred digitally and that are converted into analogsignals using a digital-to-analog converter. The PS 410 may furthercomprise a user interface 430 comprising user interface elementsdiscussed above, such as a keyboard, display, mouse, and the like.

The PS 410 may be connected to other PSs 410′ via a network, such as theInternet. In one implementation, conferencing software may be utilizedto assist in the creation of conferences or other gatherings and providecapabilities such as security (e.g., ensuring that the participant is anintended participant of the conference), sharing (e.g., sharing ascreen, files, etc. with other participants), recording (e.g., for laterviewing), and any number of other capabilities. Such conferencingsoftware may be provided in a client-server architecture, with a portionof the software residing on the CMS 450, and a portion residing on thePS 410. This, or other architectures may utilize a web browser as aportal for accessing the functionality of the conferencing software. TheCMS 450 may also utilize cloud-based technologies in order to maximizeefficiencies and obtain other benefits of the cloud architecture.

Testing and Detection

The CMS 450 may serve to detect or monitor and control various aspectsof the conference to, among other things, help ensure that a positivecommunication experience for each of the participants is maximized, andmay comprise, in one or more embodiments, a data processing system 100as described above, and may comprise a processor 455, such as theprocessor unit 104, as described above. In the CMS 450, undesirablesounds, such as echo and feedback mentioned above, may be detected andremediation applied where possible. To do that, the CMS 450 may comprisea central audio control 460 that may be used to receive audio from andsend audio to the PSs 410 and possibly implement various controls on theaudio, such as volume control, filtering, and the like. The centralaudio control 460 may thus include various controls for the audio on itsend even when the PS 410 offers little in the way of an ability for theCMS 450 to control its audio. The audio from each PS 410 may bereceived, adjusted, combined with the audio from other PSs 410′, andredistributed back to the PSs 410.

The interface mechanisms between the CMS 450 and the PS 410 may varyconsiderably in terms of communication and control. The audio on some ofthe PSs 410 may be fairly unsophisticated. For example, a PS 410 maysimply make use of a telephone that calls into a number that serves as aconference audio hub on the CMS 450. In other cases, the audio on otherPSs 410 may allow for complete control of the audio or signalrepresentations of the audio on either the PS or on the CMS 450 and fromeither system, including the application of advanced filtering and thelike. Thus, in one implementation, the CMS 450 may be flexible inhandling the different PSs 410 according to their capabilities.

In one or more embodiments, the CMS 450 may comprise a set of testroutines 470 that may be utilized in determining if one of the PSs 410has or is likely to have an undesirable noise problem, and if so, whatoptions are available for providing remedial action. When a sound may bedirected by the CMS 450 to individual PSs 410, e.g., via an audiocommunications channel, the CMS 450 may attempt to detect problematicPSs 410 by transmitting a test signal, such as an audio microburst, tothe speaker 420, of the PS 410 under test. It is generally better if thesound is as unobtrusive to the conferencing audio as possible. This maybe achieved by keeping the sound short. For example, a short-burst soundof 100 ms or less is unlikely to interfere with normal communications ifit is not sent too frequently.

In one implementation, the unobtrusive sound may be sent in a frequencyrange that is outside of normal hearing, such as above 20 kHz or below20 Hz, or that is generally inaudible to the human ear. The term“generally inaudible” means not noticeably audible to listeners in acontext of a conference and other audio signals. By way of illustrativeexample, a 15 kHz signal may be audible to a listener under the best ofcircumstances, however, in a context of listening to speech and otheraudio in a much lower frequency range in a conference setting, alistener may not notice a 15 kHz signal that might otherwise bedetectable in a dedicated environment.

However, such techniques may be limited by the frequency response of thespeaker 420 itself—a small speaker may not be able to reproduce lowfrequencies well; use of a narrow-band audio system, such as thetelephone system, may not work in this manner at all. In addition tofrequency, a series of pulses or tones may be utilized as the uniquesignal sent as a test signal. In one or more embodiments, this uniquetest signal sent to, for example, each PS 410 participating in aconference is unique and distinguishable from test signals sent to otherPSs 410′.

When the test routines 470 receive a feedback signal from a participantsystem 410, the test routines 470 may know what the origin of thefeedback signal is, based on the signal's unique signature. By way of asimplistic use case illustration, if there are three PSs 410 in aconference call, the CMS 450 may send out a single-pulse signal to thefirst PS 410, a double-pulse signal to the second PS 410, and atriple-pulse signal to the third PS 410. If the double-pulse signal isheard back in an echo, then the CMS 450 may determine that the second PS410 is responsible for the echo. An echo, reverberation, noise,distortion, or any other undesirable noise may be detected based on testsignal volume levels, frequency characteristics, timing, and/or anyother signal processing technique.

When multiple PSs 410 are located proximate to one another, such asmight be found in an office area, it may be possible that the sound fromone PS's speaker 420 ends up in not only their own microphone 415, butmicrophones of other nearby PSs 410′. In such a situation, the remedialaction of reducing the speaker 420 volume based on the test signalreceived may still be applied to address the problem. Hence, in one ormore embodiments, a detection of the same undesirable noise may bepresent in the microphone 415 of more than one PS. The test routines 470may be able to detect the proximity of other users that may contributeto an echo effect, such as those that are on a same conference bridge orlocated in a same or adjacent conference room or predict that suchproximate locations are likely to case undesirable noise, such as echo.

In the implementation discussed above, a unique test signal may be sentto each PS 410 (also referred to herein as “scanning”) in, for example,a round-robin manner so that every PS 410 receives its unique testsignal. The unique test signal may be actual audio data, or it may bedata that permits audio data to be generated in a particular manner onthe PS 410. The round-robin testing of all stations may be performed inresponse to any number of criteria, including expiration of a timer(which may be a repeatable timer resulting in periodic testing of allPSs 410), detection of an undesirable noise, a user request, or anyother criteria. The ordering of the testing may depend on order ofentrance into the conference, a predefined ordering, or an orderingbased on a likelihood of creating problems, based on a predictionmechanism discussed in more detail below.

In addition to a round-robin approach, certain PSs 410 may be testedmore frequently than others. For example, a PS 410 with potentially moreproblematic equipment or with a history of problematic behavior may betested more frequently than other PSs 410 without such known orpredicted problems. Additionally, where audio channels among the PSs 410are connected to the CMS 450 in parallel, it may be possible for the CMS450 to send out multiple test signals in parallel, thus reducing anamount of time required to send the test signals to all PSs 410. Acommon audio channel may be utilized for such parallel test signals, aslong as they can be clearly distinguished when sent out simultaneously.For example, differing frequencies for test signals may be sent outsimultaneously and a returned undesirable noise, such as echo, may bedetected based on frequency. In such cases, it may be desirable to usenon-harmonic frequencies, since harmonic components may be a part of thedistortion or echo that is created.

When the PS 410 initially registers with the conference (or with the CMS450 outside of the context of a conference), registration informationmay be collected by the CMS 450 about the PS 410. This information mayinclude a unique identifier for the PS 410, such as a telephone number,network address, location, along with information and/or currentsettings about versions of software, hardware, and associated driversthat may be present on the PS 410. Also, information may be providedabout the conferencing or other communications capabilities of the PS410, such as the ability to accept remote control of audio orcommunications parameters. The test signal may also be sent to the PS410 during or upon completion of its registration.

When the undesirable noise is based on a test signal created by the CMS450, it may be relatively easy and quick to determine the source of theunwanted noise that is in a form of an echo, reverberation, distortion,or the like. However, it is possible that an undesirable noise is not inthis form and is not determinable by use of a test signal. Such asituation may be present when the undesirable noise is a hum, backgroundnoise, or the like. In such instances, it may still be possible todetermine a source of the noise. For example, if audio signals arereceived by the CMS 450 in dedicated and isolated channels, then a PS410 audio channel may be used to determine a source of the undesirablenoise. For example, the presence of a 60 Hz hum may be detectable in achannel of a particular PS 410. In another implementation, the CMS 450may briefly mute all but one of a PS 410 and listen for the undesirablenoise to determine the offending PS 410. Just as the test signal may beemployed in a round-robin or other scheme described above, theall-but-one-muting may be employed in a similar manner.

The determination as to whether a particular PS 410 is producing anundesirable noise, such as an echo or reverberation, may be performedusing various statistical techniques. In one implementation, if theconference size is less than thirty participants, a Student's t-test maybe used to identify a PS 410 that is statistically likely to be thesource of the undesirable noise. If the conference size is greater thanor equal to thirty persons, then a Z-test may be used to make the samedetermination. The determination may be made by looking for outliers oranomalies for the target sound in the sample audio conference using,e.g., Cochran's C test and Grubb's test. Other statistical techniques,including regression models and hypothesis testing and complexmulti-variate analyses, or other clustering or grouping techniques, maybe used to identify one or more PSs 410 as an actual or potential sourceof undesirable noise. By way of example, a threshold limit on the volumelevel may be set to help identify whether a loudness of each audio lineis above the threshold.

The application of different remedial actions may be taken based on alevel of detection of the undesirable noise. By way of example, thedetection of the undesirable noise may involve applying a test that isthe t-test or the Z-test. If the value of the test is conditioned upon afirst level of detection, such as the test result is greater than two,then this may be interpreted as a “warning signal” that triggers a firstremedial action (e.g., messaging or minor volume adjustment), and if thevalue of the test is conditioned upon a second level of detection, suchas the test result is greater than three, then this may trigger a secondremedial action, e.g., an “action signal” that triggers a second set ofactions (e.g., muting the microphone). Outliers may be utilized to helpdetect the variance in the echo. As someone skilled in the art wouldknow, analysis of the signals, outliers, and threshold limits may beutilized to further refine the statistical analyses.

Remedial Action

When an undesirable noise, such as an echo, is detected, remedial actionmay be taken. Remedial action may vary based on capabilities of the PS410 as well as desired operational characteristics of acoordinator/manager for a gathering. Basic elements of remedial actionmay involve providing indications and warnings, or causing the audio tobe modified in some manner. Indications and warnings may be utilizedwhen an ability to modify the audio is difficult, or possibly utilizedin addition to modifying the audio. When a PS 410 has been identified asa source of undesirable noise, the CMS 450 may sent a message fordisplay on the UI 430 of the PS 410 indicating a type of undesirablenoise (echo, reverb, distortion, hum, background noise, and the like),and possibly recommending a remedial action for the participant to takeon his/her system (mute microphone, turn down microphone, turn downspeaker, use headphones, etc.). The message may be sent in text,graphic, audio, video, or any other format suitable for notifying theparticipant. A message may alternately or additionally be sent to agathering organizer of manager.

In the event that a modification of the audio is displayed, anindication may be provided to the participant as to the nature of theadjustment that was made. For example, the CMS 450 may detect an echo inthe PS 410 and reduce the microphone level. It may then send a messagein a form of a pop-up window or other form stating, e.g., “An echo wasdetected on your system and your microphone level was reduced [by 10 dB,25%, etc.].” In this way, the participant may understand why the PS 410is acting differently and may wish to consider making adjustments (e.g.,moving the speakers further from the microphone, wearing headphones,etc.).

Adjustment of the audio may be done on either the PS 410 side or on theCMS 450 side. Where the CMS 450 gathers and redistributes the audio fora conference call, it may be beneficial for the CMS 450 to adjust eitherthe incoming sound originating from the microphone 415 of the offendingPS 410, or adjust the outgoing sound directed to the speaker 420 of theoffending PS 410. However, this configuration may become demanding on aCMS 450 for which many PSs 410 are participating. Thus, it may also bebeneficial in certain situations to adjust incoming or outgoing sound onthe PS 410 using its audio control 440.

The adjustments may be provided in the form of volume adjustments eitherto the microphone 415 (or signal from the microphone 415) or the speaker420 (or signal to the speaker 420). Such an adjustment may be made tothe point of muting the microphone 415 or the speaker 420. Adetermination may be made as to which adjustment is likely to be moreeffective. For example, if a PS 410 speaker 420 is creating a feedbackloop or echo in an adjacent participant's system 410′, then a volumeadjustment to the speaker 420 may be in order. Conversely, if a PS 410has a very sensitive or omnidirectional microphone 415, the volumeadjustment to the microphone may be performed. Another adjustment thatmay be made to the microphone 415, where possible, is to adjust thedirectionality of the microphone 415 so that it reduces audio fromdirections that are not along a directional lobe of the microphone 415.Where present, the adjustment may be in the form of switching speakersor microphones, where alternates are available.

Another adjustment that may be made is to perform filtering. Forexample, if characteristics of the audio system are such that only highfrequency or low frequency signals create a feedback problem, thenappropriate filters may be applied to reduce the undesirable noisewithout otherwise sacrificing audio quality. Any form of known filtermay be applied, such as high-pass, low-pass, band-pass, band reject, andfilters may be applied in combination. The test routines 470 may makevarious adjustments on components on the system and then determine alevel of success or failure of that adjustment in order to determinefuture adjustments that may be made. Details may be stored in apersistent or prediction database 480 for subsequent use.

By way of an illustrative use case example, the test signal is sent andan echo is detected in a PS 410 and the remedial measure is initiallydetermined to be reducing the speaker 420 volume by −10 dB. A secondtest signal is sent and, although the echo is reduced, it is stilldetected to be present. The remedial measure is to reduce the speaker420 volume by an additional −10 dB, and the echo is no longer detectedin response to the test signal. The information “reduce speaker value by−20 dB for this PS 410 in the future” may be stored in the predictiondatabase 480 so that this may be applied to the PS 410 when it initiallyconnects to the CMS 450 or possibly in response to a first detection ofan undesirable noise for that PS 410 (i.e., making the −20 dB adjustmentin a single round, as opposed to the two −10 dB rounds previously used).In this way, a faster, simpler, and more effective remediation actionmay be applied.

Predictive Detection

The CMS 450 may use the prediction database 480 in order to anticipatethe potential presence of undesirable noise and possibly preemptivelyprevent it from occurring. As information is acquired aboutequipment/hardware, software, users, location, and other parametersrelated to PSs 410 are determined by the CMS 450, along withmeasurements taken in response to the above-describe tests and/orvarious remedial actions, this information, including both positive andnegative responses to testing, may be stored in the prediction database480. Thus, when a PS 410 registers for a conference with the CMS 450 andprovides its registration information, this registration information maybe compared to information in the prediction database 480 to determinewhether there is a historical indication of potential problemsassociated with the hardware, software, user, location, or any otherattributes associated with the PS 410.

Based on a statistical analysis of information in the predictiondatabase 480 in conjunction with the registration information provided,it may be possible to take remedial action even prior to the PS 410being connected in with the rest of the conference. By way of a use caseexample, an individual has both an older and a newer laptop that theyuse to connect into conferences. The older computer has a lower qualitymicrophone and speaker that are located close to one another.Historically, use of this older computer as the PS 410 has resulted inechoing. In four out of the last five times the user has used this oldercomputer as the PS 410, problematic echoing has been detected. Anidentifier associated with this computer has been stored in theprediction database 480, along with the problems and, if available, theeffective remediation (e.g., “reduce the microphone 420 gain by −20dB”).

When the user registers to join a conference with the older computer asthe PS 410, the CMS 450 reads, among other things, a unique identifierfor the computer and finds this computer in the prediction database 480.With the statistical analysis, the CMS 450 may determine preemptively toadjust the microphone gain by −20 dB prior to allowing the PS 410 tojoin the conference (or, in an implementation, shortly after joining, orwhen the user begins to speak into the microphone, or at any othersimilar time). In one implementation, such preventative action may notrequire a specific unique instance to match in the prediction database480, but rather a type match may suffice. For example, if a particularmodel sound card has been known to cause problems in the past, similarremedial action may be taken upon detection of that model sound card inthe user's computer, despite the fact that that particular instance ofthe sound card has never been involved in a problematic participation.These types of statistical analyses may be performed for any factorassociated with the PS 410 or any groups of factors when the predictiondatabase 480 has an adequate number of samples or related informationfor making a determination that remedial action may be helpful.Continuing on with the use case, the user's new computer has no similarhistory of problematic participation in the conference, and thus, nopreemptive activities are applied as they were when the user's oldcomputer was used as the PS 410.

Processes

FIGS. 5A and 5B are flowcharts illustrating process components accordingto one or more embodiments disclosed herein. FIG. 5A illustrates aprocess 500 for running and taking remedial action of a test on a singlePS 410. At operation 505, a PS 410 may register to participate in aconference with the CMS 450, and provide registration information to theCMS 450. A PS 410 may also pre-register with the CMS 450 prior to aconference to provide registration information that may be similar to ordiffer from the registration information provided for an existingconference.

Once the CMS 450 has received the registration information from the PS410, it may, in operation 510, search the prediction database 480 todetermine if any predictive data exists that may be applicable to the PS410 participating in the conference. If not (operation 510: NO), thenprocessing proceeds to operation 520, otherwise, operation 515 may beperformed first, which is to apply any predictive remediation based oninformation in the prediction database 480. In operation 520, a uniquetest signal may be sent from the CMS 450 to the PS 410, and in operation525, the CMS 450 may listen for any results received in response to thetest signal. Any results received in response to the test signal(success, fail, problem, parameters, etc.) may be stored, in operation530, in the prediction database 480 for potential subsequent use. Inoperation 535, a test may be performed, using any of the techniquesdescribed herein, to determine if an undesirable noise us detected. Ifnot (operation 535: NO), then at some later point in time, the process500 loops to operation 520 to repeat sending the test signal, receivinga response, and testing the response. If so (operation 535: YES), thenin operation 540, remedial action, as described herein, may be taken andthe process 500 loops to operation 520.

FIG. 5B illustrates a process 600 for the CMS 450 to test a plurality ofthe PSs 410 participating in a conference. The process 600, as describedherein, may be triggered by any number of triggering events, such asexpiration of a timer, e.g., a periodic timer, a detection of anunwanted noise, a user request, or any other form of trigger. When theprocess 600 for performing an overall test is initiated, in operation605, a current PS is set as a first PS 410. As described above, theordering of the PS 410 for testing may be according to order of entry bythe PS 410 into the conference, a likelihood of creating undesirablenoise, a previously detected undesirable noise, or any other priorityscheme. Next, in operation 610, the operations 520-540 described aboveare performed. In operation 615, a determination may be made todetermine if this is the last PS 410 in the conference. If so (operation615: YES), then in operation 620, the process 600 waits until thecriteria for repeating the test series is met, and when it is, theprocess 600 may repeat. If not (operation 615: NO), then, in operation625, the current PS is set to the next PS 410 to be tested, and thetesting in operation 610 is repeated. As discussed herein, it is notessential for all PSs 410 to be tested sequentially. Where possible,multiple PSs 410 may be tested concurrently or certain PSs 410, such asthose exhibiting problems or likely to exhibit problems, may be testedmore frequently.

The one or more embodiments disclosed herein accordingly provide animprovement to computer technology, namely an improvement incomputer-networked conferencing audio so that permits multipleparticipants in a gathering to avoid potential feedback problems thatmay disrupt a networked conference.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, oreither source code or object code written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The computer readable program instructions may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including,for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute thecomputer readable program instructions by utilizing state information ofthe computer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A communications management system (CMS),comprising: a memory comprising executable instructions, a predictiondatabase, and a processor configured to execute the instructions that,when executed on the processor, cause the processor to: receiveregistration information related to a plurality of participant systems(PSs) that communicate audio information between themselves; transmit aunique signal to each of the plurality of PSs that causes each of theplurality of PSs to produce a unique audio signal; detect an undesirablesound (US) in a PS of the plurality of PSs responsive to thetransmission of the unique signal; responsive to the detection of theUS, apply a remedial action to the PS to initiate a reduction in alikelihood that the PS will produce a future US; repeat thetransmitting, detecting, and applying according to a predefined testingcriteria; and responsive to the processor of the CMS receiving apositive or negative response to the transmission of the unique signalthat indicates, respectively, a presence or absence of the US for a PSassociated with the unique signal, storing data related to the positiveor negative response in the prediction database.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the detection of a US in a PS is performed by determining astatistical likelihood of the PS being a source of the US using a t-testwhen a population size of the plurality of PSs is thirty or less, and aZ-test when a population size of the plurality of PSs is greater thanthirty.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the detection of a US in a PSis performed by considering outliers or anomalies related to thetransmission of the unique signal using a test selected from the groupconsisting of Cochran's C test and Grubb's test.
 4. The system of claim1, wherein the unique audio signal is selected from the group consistingof: (a) a microburst with a duration of less than or equal toapproximately 100 ms, and (b) a frequency that is generally inaudible tothe human ear.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the remedial action isa volume adjustment.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the volumeadjustment is a PS volume adjustment.
 7. The system of claim 5, whereinthe volume adjustment is a CMS adjustment.
 8. The system of claim 5,wherein the volume adjustment is an adjustment to a PS speaker.
 9. Thesystem of claim 5, wherein the volume adjustment is an adjustment to aPS microphone.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the remedial action isa message indicating a US problem.
 11. The system of claim 1, whereinthe US is an echo.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the application ofa remedial action comprises: an application of a first remedial actionconditioned upon a first level of detection of the US; and anapplication of a second remedial action that differs from the firstremedial action conditioned upon a second level of detection of the US.13. A communications management system (CMS), comprising: a memorycomprising executable instructions, and a prediction database comprisingprediction information; and a processor configured to execute theinstructions that, when executed on the processor, cause the processorto: receive registration information related to a participant system(PS) of a plurality of PSs that communicate audio information betweenthemselves; predict, according to a predefined likelihood thresholdresulting in a positive determination, that an undesirable sound (US)will be present during a conference that the PS is participating inbased on the received registration information and a historicalindication of potential problems in the prediction informationassociated with the PS; and responsive to a positive prediction that theUS will be present during the conference, preemptively and prior to thepresence of the US, apply a remedial action to the PS to initiate areduction in a likelihood that the US will be present during theconference prior to an actual detection of the US.
 14. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the remedial action is applied prior to or at a startof participation of the PS in the conference.
 15. The system of claim13, wherein the processor is further configured to: transmit a uniquesignal to each of the plurality of PSs that causes each of the pluralityof PSs to produce a unique audio signal; detect an undesirable sound(US) in a PS of the plurality of PSs responsive to the transmission ofthe unique signal; responsive to the detection of the US, apply aremedial action to the PS to initiate a reduction in a likelihood thatthe PS will produce a future US; repeat the transmitting, detecting, andapplying according to a predefined testing criteria.
 16. The system ofclaim 15, further comprising, responsive to the processor of the CMSreceiving a positive or negative response to the transmission of theunique signal that indicates, respectively, a presence or absence of theUS for a PS associated with the unique signal, storing data related tothe positive or negative response in the prediction database.
 17. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the prediction information comprises datarelated to positive and negative responses that indicate, respectively,a presence or absence of the US for a PS associated with the uniquesignal to prior transmissions of a unique signal in prior conferenceswith respect to factors selected from the group consisting of hardware,software, user identity, and location.
 18. A computer-implemented methodfor managing a communications management system (CMS), the methodcomprising, using a processor: receiving registration informationrelated to a plurality of participant systems (PSs) that communicateaudio information between themselves; transmitting a unique signal toeach of the plurality of PSs that causes each of the plurality of PSs toproduce a unique audio signal; detecting an undesirable sound (US) in aPS of the plurality of PSs responsive to the transmission of the uniquesignal; responsive to the detecting of the US, applying a remedialaction to the PS to initiate a reduction in a likelihood that the PSwill produce a future US; repeating the transmitting, detecting, andapplying according to a predefined testing criteria; and responsive tothe processor of the CMS receiving a positive or negative response tothe transmission of the unique signal that indicates, respectively, apresence or absence of the US for a PS associated with the uniquesignal, storing data related to the positive or negative response in aprediction database.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the remedialaction is a volume adjustment selected from the group consisting of a PSadjustment, a CMS adjustment, a speaker adjustment, and a microphoneadjustment.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the detecting utilizes astatistical test selected from the group consisting of a t-test, aZ-test, Cochran's C test, and Grubb's test.